by Michelle B. Smith

Created on: November 02, 2009   Last Updated: November 03, 2009

With over an estimated 1.45 million Philadelphians, the need for transportation is great. Fortunately, Philadelphia has over four major forms of transportation that traverse the major city and connecting areas. With many of the lines overlapping in service areas, getting around Philadelphia is finally easier than choosing between Pat's or Geno's cheese steak.

Amtrak Trains

Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is a major transportation hub directly outside of Center City, the downtown area of Philadelphia. As a major station within the city and for people simply passing through, 30th Street Station is easily the city's busiest locations. Built in 1933 as a supplementary station to the Broad Street Station, 30th Street Station finally became the main connection station for the Pennsylvania Railroad between Washington, D.C. and New York.

If you are in need of transportation to anywhere along the East Coast, 30th Street Station is the best place to go. The 24 hour facility handles trains traveling to and from Baltimore, Boston, Charlottesville, D.C., Hartford and New York City amongst others. 30th Street Station is also a major stop on the Regional Rail and New Jersey Transit. The station itself is host to multiple food establishments and retailers including the Southern cuisine of Delilah's and Italian fare of Cucina Italiano.

Buses

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is in charge of operating over 100 bus lines that run through the city and surrounding suburbs. All of Philadelphia's bus routes are numbered from 1 to 314 with exception of 5 lettered bus routes. Many of the routes running through North, South and West Philadelphia have connecting stops with the major subway station stops. The base fare to ride the bus is $2.00 or $2.75 if you request a bus transfer. All buses, trolleys and subways operate off this same fare and transfer pricing. Tokens, cash and transpasses are acceptable methods of payment.

The more frequent and crowded buses are those that connect to major stations or travel directly into Center City. This is where much of the population is either employed or conducts daily business. The major bus terminals, which also coincide with the major trains include 69th Street Terminal, Frankford Terminal and Olney Transportation Center. The bus routes connect to all areas of the city to as far as Penn State University in State College, PA.

Trolleys

Philadelphia is one of the only major cities in the country to have operating

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>